Mercedes risk F1 disqualification with amazing trick

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Mercedes risk F1 disqualification with amazing trick

F1 is all about fine margins after all

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Friday 10 July 2026 18:45 Updated: 21:02

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It has been revealed that Mercedes F1 team are using a risky trick that allows Kimi Antonelli and George Russell to benefit from quicker lap times in qualifying, and their rivals are expected to catch on.

The Silver Arrows got the new regulations era off to an impressive start earlier this year and aside from Ferrari, are the only team to have won a grand prix in 2026.

The Scuderia are slowly but surely catching up in the standings and as Russell continues to diminish Antonelli's title lead, things could be about to pretty tight between the two rivals.

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Luckily for both Mercedes stars however, the team have uncovered a perfectly legal trick that, when done correctly, can translate into a lap time benefit of roughly 0.05 seconds.

This could seriously help Mercedes give their drivers a head start on a grand prix Sunday, which when faced with the lightning fast Ferraris off the line, is no bad thing.

However, if Toto Wolff's outfit get it wrong, they are not just risking losing pole position, but in fact, disqualification.

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Mercedes qualifying trick seen at British GP explained

Earlier this year, both Mercedes and Red Bull were banned from using an MGU-K shutdown route for anything other than genuine emergencies by the FIA after F1's governing body clocked onto the fact they had found a loophole to avoid the ramp down requirement.

In F1, the ramp down rate declares that at tracks like Silverstone, battery power can be reduced by no more than 50kW per second until the battery is almost empty, meaning drivers must gradually reduce their speed as they approach the timing line.

But teams can benefit from reaching higher top speeds on the straights in qualifying instead of having to follow the ramp down rate if they can appropriately adhere to the legal loophole.

Since the previous trick was ruled out, the Silver Arrows clearly went back to the drawing board to find such a workaround, which The Race have now confirmed was used by the Brackley-based team at Silverstone last time out.

Ahead of the British GP, Mercedes found that they could benefit from the new energy management rules if their drivers managed to get around that ramp down rate by approaching the timing line at the full 350kW allowance for as long as possible before hitting zero.

Russell and Antonelli are believed to have spent a significant portion of time on the sim testing out the theory before attempting it in qualifying last Saturday, where they benefited from using an exemption in the rules where the power can be cut by more than the 50kW per second if certain criteria are in play and their drivers manage to back off at the precise correct moment.

How could Russell or Antonelli be disqualified?

If the drivers get their timing wrong however (it can vary from lap to lap) they could be disqualified.

To avoid being struck off from the qualifying result and likely having to start a grand prix from the back of the grid, drivers must lift off the throttle before the battery hits zero. This is because if the MGU-K was to be abruptly cut off due to a lack of power, that would be a clear breach of the ramp down rules.

So, where the drivers lift off on track depends entirely on how much battery percentage they have left.

Explaining how Wolff's outfit were able to benefit from their risky trick at the ninth round of the championship, The Race reported that the Mercedes drivers have a system where a tone in their ears inform them to lift off before their battery hits zero.

However, not to state the obvious but if you are reading this news, then so are Mercedes' rivals, so don't be surprised if you see this trick in action at upcoming qualifying sessions by drivers other than Russell and Antonelli.

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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